A proud U.S. Citizen and man of faith, Jorge Alarcon's story

Material Information

Title:
A proud U.S. Citizen and man of faith, Jorge Alarcon's story
Series Title:
Immigrant Voices: New to Middlesex County
Creator:
McDermott Gianna ( interviewer )
Alarcon Jorge ( interviewee )
Espinoza-Wulach, Cristóbal ( advisor )
Place of Publication:
Edison, NJ
Publisher:
Middlesex College
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2023
Physical Description:
Audio, mp3, pdf

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Chilean Americans -- New Jersey -- Middlesex County
Immigrants -- United States ( lcsh )
Middlesex County (N.J.) -- history
Genre:
oral histories ( lcsh )
Temporal Coverage:
Fall 2023 ( - 2023 )
Spatial Coverage:
New Jersey -- Middlesex County

Notes

Summary:
From walking the streets of Chile to starting a new life all on his own in a new country, the United States gave him the opportunity to reach his full potential as a business owner and find his true passions. Although this brought many struggles, he fought his way through and was able to find love and meet many new lifelong friends during the process, this is the story of Jorge Alarcon. ( , )
Abstract:
This is a transcript [and/or recording] of an oral history interview that took place as part of the class projects for Middlesex College's History 221H class in the Fall of 2023.
Biographical:
(Biographical) from the interviewee; From the interviewee, “My name is Jorge Alarcon, I was born in Santiago, Chile.With 22 years of age in October 1992 I had the privilege to travel to this great nation by air as a tourist I landed at jfk and got to know Port Washington- great neck Manhasset Long Island and Manhattan, New York. I made a lot of friends. After 4 months I went back to Chile and came right back to the US with the intentions to make this my country. Tried my hardest to blend in, learn the English language, I found a job in a local bar restaurant Publicans Manhasset washed dishes for living then cleaned tables. My rent was $300 a month I was renting a room in a basement. After a year an a half I found another job as a waiter at a Franchised restaurant called Bennigan’s in great neck, New York. There I set myself a goal Pursuing my hopes and dreams With no College education and only the experience I learned in the restaurant business. After working on every position in the restaurant business in 1997, I became a manager. A year later went to the hospitality industry started working at a Hilton hotel in New Jersey Where I was supervising the food and beverage operations. Again, this is All, with no college education only my will power and hard work. My hard work and willingness to do whatever it took to make things possible Gave me the exposure to opportunities. Back in those days we had no smart phones. We have no Facebook no whatsapp, Even though I didn’t have the technology back then to communicate with my family I never felt lonely. I felt welcomed embraced here. 20 years ago I decided to start my own passenger transportation company, And again, with no experience, only the willpower and the intentions to do things well I have been able to develop great relationships with hotels, corporations, pharmaceutical companies, financial institutions, insurance companies, etc. 10 years ago I became a proud, naturalized United States citizen Many people say to me with admiration that I am the American dream because I came with nothing. But For me, The True American dream is when I decided to become one more of the 350 million people that live here Being part of the society, by working paying my taxes contributing by volunteering, making friends, Attending church, obeying the laws etc. for me, that is the true American dream. Now I am married with two US born children Constantly, I tell them that they must feel blessed, honored, and privileged To have been born in the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. That with hard work, discipline and perseverance, they can accomplish their hopes and dreams. Now more than ever that we have, and get information at our fingertips. As an immigrant, I want to end this by saying that with faith and trust in God, anything is possible in this great nation Remember, George Washington, he took action with faith and conviction cross that river Founded This Nation Under God, The United States of America, If you’re here, you have nothing to be afraid of, You will have God on your side Always, You will carry The Word God with you everywhere because is imprinted in every currency denomination. God bless and God bless the United States of America."
Venue:
(Venue) Recorded on 12/12/2023 at AC Hotel Bridgewater

Record Information

Source Institution:
Middlesex College
Holding Location:
Middlesex College
Rights Management:
This item is licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivative License. This license allows others to download this work and share them with others as long as they mention the author and link back to the author, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.